Nothing Out of the Ordinary
by Faerie Masque
Summary: CedricCho. A practical view of how Cedric and Cho met, and how their feelings for each other developed. This fic was written in counterpoint to CedricCho love at first sight stories and angsty postCedric'sdeath stories.


_Harry Potter, Cho Chang, Cedric Diggory, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling. _

**Nothing Out of the Ordinary: Chapter 1  
(by Faerie Masque)**

Professor Snape had decided to begin the school term by assigning a Potions paper due the second week the students were back from summer holiday. As a result, the library was quite filled even though it was early in the term. This made little difference to Cho Chang, however, who was beginning her fourth year at Hogwarts; she often spent her evenings in the library anyway, like many Ravenclaw students. Usually, her friends would be studying with her, but tonight they had a book club meeting for a book that Cho hadn't found very interesting. Hence, she was sitting at a table alone, being one of the few people in the library that currently had a table all to themselves.

"Is this seat taken?"

Cho looked up to see a tall boy with well-groomed brown hair indicating the seat across from her. His Hogswarts uniform had yellow trim and he wore a yellow tie, so she knew he was a Hufflepuff. Unfortunately, she--like most Hogswarts students--did not socialize much with people outside of her own House, so she did not recognize the boy. He had an air of geniality about him, though, and his face was handsome and clean-cut.

"No," she replied with a smile. Gesturing towards the seat, she added, "Please."

The boy smiled amiably and held out his hand as he sat.

"Cedric Diggory," he introduced himself in a courteous tone.

She shook his hand and replied in like-manner, "Cho Chang."

"Nice to meet you," Cedric said as he got out his books.

Cho nodded agreeably and turned back to her own books. The rest of the hour went by pleasantly enough. Cho was relieved when it appeared that Cedric was a serious student himself and did not fidget or feel the need to chatter while studying. They did not speak, but the silence at their table was a comfortable one, and Cho did not feel Cedric's presence to be obtrusive in any way. This latter point was surprising, since Cho was not often comfortable around people she did not know very well, therefore spending most of her time in the safe company of a group of friends.

"Cho!" a loud whisper from the entrance of the library caught her attention. Apparently, her friends' book club meeting was over.

She gathered her books and stood. Cedric looked up at the movement and they exchanged quick, polite nods as she left to join her friends.

As soon as they were in the corridor, her friend Marietta grasped her arm excitedly, stating the obvious, "Cho, you were sitting with Cedric Diggory!"

"Oh, you know him?" Cho asked.

"He was just made one of the fifth year prefects for Hufflepuff," her friend Nam-Ha informed her.

"I heard he's set on being Seeker _and_ Captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team this year," Abida added.

At the mention of Quidditch, something clicked in Cho's memory. She suddenly remembered a boy, shorter and skinnier than the Cedric Diggory that she had just met in the library; it was the image of a younger Cedric Diggory, from her first and second years at Hogwarts. She had always followed Hogswarts Quidditch very closely, even though she had not had the nerve to try out for the Ravenclaw team until her third year. Unfortunately, the Quidditch games during her third year had been cancelled. Hence, Cedric Diggory and all of the other good Quidditch players at Hogwarts had faded from her memory.

"Did he say anything to you?" Padma asked, her eyes and voice dreamy, clearly showing that she had a high opinion of Mr. Diggory.

"Not really," Cho replied. "He only asked if the seat across from me was taken."

"Well, aren't you lucky the library was so full today," Marietta teased.

"I hear he's very nice and intelligent, too," Nam-Ha said. "Not just another good-for-nothing pretty boy."

"I was sitting near a group of Hufflepuff girls in Arithmancy yesterday," Abida put in. "Apparently, Cedric Diggory is already the new catch of the school, even though he's still fifth year."

"All right, that's enough of that now," Cho said with a laugh. "I can see that he's very good-looking and the stuff that school heartthrobs are made of, but I have school work and Quidditch try-outs, which are more deserving of my attention at the moment."

And with that, the conversation turned to homework and the various school clubs that the girls wanted to join this year.

---

The next morning, Cho and her friends went down to breakfast a little later than usual. As they entered the Great Hall, Cho's eyes swept casually over the room. By chance, a boy she recognized as Cedric Diggory happened to look up just as her gaze was passing by the Hufflepuff table. To ignore him would seem rude now that they had introduced themselves, so Cho smiled a greeting, which Cedric returned with a wave and a smile of his own.

"Cho!" Marietta gasped, looking at her friend with interest, as if Cho had some explaining to do.

"What?" Cho whispered back, looking bewildered at her friends. "That was nothing! It's polite to greet people you know!"

As if to prove her point, a girl walking in behind them called out a greeting to Cedric, and Cedric gave the girl the same wave and smile that he had given Cho.

"See," Cho said pointedly. Obviously, Cedric Diggory was just being his usual good-natured, gentlemanly self.

TBC


End file.
